Central Missouri man sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for child pornography conviction

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Central Missouri man was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison for receiving and attempting to distribute child pornography.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI and the Boone County (Missouri) Cyber Crimes Task Force.

Dustin Clay Trail, 35, of Jefferson City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to five years in federal prison.

Trail, who pleaded guilty to the charges Aug. 13, 2015, admitted that he received child pornography via the Internet on Sept. 3, 2013. He also admitted to attempting to distribute child pornography via the Internet on Sept. 4, 2013, and to possessing child pornography from May to Oct. 31, 2013.

This investigation began in May 2013 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip report regarding child pornography being sent by email. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Trail’s residence and seized a desktop computer, three hard drives and compact discs, which Trail must forfeit to the government. Investigators discovered 14,675 thumbnail images on the desktop hard drive that contained possible child pornography. Additionally, 20 web-video fragments were recovered. A total of 65 images containing child pornography associated with email exchanges were recovered.

According to court documents, Trail prolifically used and exchanged child pornography. Trail admitted that he had been trading child pornography for a couple of years with about a dozen individuals online. According to court documents, Trail exchanged images depicting extremely young, prepubescent girls engaged in graphic sexual acts with adults.

The court also sentenced Trail to a term of supervised release for 10 years following incarceration. There is no parole in the federal prison system.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.